This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The work in the project is to develop an understanding of the origins of congenital vascular malformations. These efforts are specifically looking at the genetic basis of Klippel Trenaunay Syndrome, and the role of the gene VG5Q in this disease. Animal models are being developed to understand the functions of this factor, as well as to develop a model of this disease. The expections of this project are to understand, at a molecular level, how this gene product functions and how it interferes with normal development of the fetal vasculature.